Ferrari launches SF-23 F1 challenger

After a hugely disappointing 2022 season where the team was largely considered to have the best car for a majority of the races, Ferrari will be hoping for a renewed challenge for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 2023.

The sculpted sidepods remain a feature of this new car, and with a number of the teams following Ferrari with this design philosophy, it should be expected that the team in red should have something of an advantage when it comes to understanding the performance of the car.

New Team Principal, Fred Vasseur, will certainly be hoping as much as he takes on the most difficult task in F1, that of bringing glory back to Ferrari. His focus will no doubt be on smoothing out the reliability and strategic issues that took the sting out of the team’s title challenge one year ago.

Needless to say, drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. will be hoping for an improved performance from the team, especially if this car turns out to be the class of the 2023 field.

Following the reveal, Charles Leclerc took the car round the Fiorano test track to give us our first look at the new car in action, although guesses on quite how fast it will be will have to wait until testing gets underway in a week’s time.

The livery is worth a quick mention, because Ferrari has introduced a new shade of red for 2023 that matches that of the 499P Hypercar. It's a nice move from the Italians, showing a level of cohesion between its two flagship motorsport efforts.

Speaking at the launch, Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc said: “Our whole team has put a lot of work into this new car and seeing it in front of us for the first time just feels amazing. It means that the start of the season is very close, which is always an exciting moment.

“It felt great to drive it here at Fiorano today, sharing the experience with our tifosi and partners. We still have to wait for the first real laps at testing to make any real assessments though.

“Our target for the season will be to do even better than last season, bring home more victories and be more consistent. The biggest goal will be to win both championships and we will do everything to achieve this.“

Team Principal Fred Vasseur said: “Over the past five weeks, I have had the chance to get to know many members of our team. We have a great group of people here and it is clear that motivation is high throughout the team.

“Today we launch our 2023 contender together with our partners and tifosi, and I am very pleased with how the car looks. I love the red colour and the ‘Effe Lunga’ that spans across the rear wing, reminding us of our heritage. Our focus will soon shift to another aspect, which is its speed and performance. We have two talented drivers who are both eager to win and have the skills needed to achieve this.

“Our objective is to win the championship, which will not be an easy task as our competitors will have exactly the same target in mind. We have to bring the right mindset with us and always work on being better tomorrow than we are today.”